


Different Kinds of Prisons

by stellarmeadow



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Pre-Slash, Prison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-09-24
Updated: 2011-09-24
Packaged: 2017-10-24 00:10:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/256647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stellarmeadow/pseuds/stellarmeadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve doesn't want visitors. Danny doesn't much care what Steve wants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Different Kinds of Prisons

**Author's Note:**

  * For [imaginarycircus](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imaginarycircus/gifts).



> Written for imaginarycircus in my lyrics prompt, who chose the lyrics:
> 
>  _And I want you to know, some feelings come and go_  
>  but for you mine will never change.  
> It's harder than it seems to know what to believe,  
> here in my mind I hold you close
> 
> from "Morning Sun" by Robbie Williams.
> 
> Mild spoilers for a deleted scene from the DVDs and sort of for the start of ep 2.01.

Steve was so focused on the pull and burn in his muscles with each push up, losing himself in the exercise, that he didn't hear the guard approach. The banging on the bars of his cell, however, was impossible to miss, and he paused in the plank position, looking over his shoulder.

"You've got a visitor, McGarrett," the guard said.

"I don't want any visitors," Steve said, going back to his pushups.

The guard laughed. "I don't think Williams is gonna take no for an answer," he said, sounding very much like he didn't want to be the one to say it to Danny, either.

"He's learned to live with disappointment," Steve said, and went back to breathing through each press to the floor and back up. He waited until he heard the guard walk away before he dropped to his knees, pressing his head to the cold cement floor for a moment. He didn't want platitudes or sympathy or encouragement. He was stuck in jail, and Wo Fat was winning, and he wasn't going to let the bastard drag his team, his family, down any further than he already had.

If that meant cutting himself off, so be it.

He'd nearly finished his sit ups when he heard the banging on his cell again. "I said I didn't want any visitors," Steve said, not looking at the door.

"True, but I told the guard at the door that you were an ass, and reminded him that he owed me one, and he let me in here."

Steve froze mid-crunch, elbows to his knees, at the sound of Danny's voice. He should have known Danny wouldn't make it easy. "What are you doing here, Danny?" Steve asked, rolling to his feet and turning to see the guard standing beside Danny.

Danny nodded at the door, and the guard opened it and let him in, locking it behind him. "Five minutes," the guard said, turning on his heel and walking away.

"Nice digs," Danny said, looking around the cell.

Steve shrugged, using the sleeve of his jumpsuit to wipe his face before letting it drop back down to his waist, not bothering to pull the top back on. "It beats your apartment."

"Predictable, McGarrett. You need some new material."

"Well I guess I'll have plenty of time to think some up stuck in here," Steve said, dropping onto the far end of the cot, away from where Danny stood. "And you didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?"

"I'm thinking of redecorating," Danny said, "what do you _think_ I'm doing here? I came to see you."

"Well, you've seen me, and I'm fine," Steve said, glancing up at Danny through his lashes. "So you can go."

He felt a familiar buzz go through him as Danny started to lose it just a little bit, remnants of the enjoyment he had gotten every day just in winding Danny up and watching him go. But that was before he'd walked right into Wo Fat's carefully laid trap.

Danny had made three circles almost in place, hands going through his hair, before he finally came up with words. "I am _here_ ," Danny said, his jaw set, leaning in Steve's direction in that way Steve knew meant he wasn't playing their game today, "in this prison, on this God-forsaken coconut _hellscape_ of an island, for _you_. No other reason. So I don't give a _shit_ if you don't want visitors, because when I come here, you _will_ see me. Are we clear?"

Steve swallowed, meeting Danny's eyes for a long moment. "I'm sorry," he said, dropping his gaze to his knees. "I just don't need sympathy."

A strangled laugh escaped Danny's throat before he plopped himself on the other end of the cot. "Why would I feel sympathy for someone who practically waltzed into the prison and closed the door behind himself? I'm not here to feel sorry for you, no. I am _here_ to figure out how to get you out of here."

"Do you have any leads?"

"Not yet. But that's why I'm here, so you can take me through what happened that night."

Steve opened his mouth, but Danny held up his hand. "Before that, though, I want an answer to one question. Did you not listen to me when I said this was _our_ problem? Because I could've sworn that I already raked you over the coals for not waiting for me, and then what did you do?"

"Danny, I was going to get a confession from the Governor with a _gun_. Why would I take you into that? You have a daughter. Why would I drag you down with me?"

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe if I'd been with you, you wouldn't have dragged either of us down?" Danny practically yelled. "Besides, it doesn't matter. Grace is gone anyway."

Steve's eyes flew up to meet Danny's again. "What?"

"Rachel took her back to Jersey two days ago."

Pieces started falling into place in Steve's head. The news Rachel was leaving Stan, the call from Rachel, Danny coming over with more beer than really necessary...it all made a scary kind of sense. "Why'd you bring the beer the other night, Danny?"

"What?"

"The beer. You weren't thirsty."

Danny raked his hand through his hair again, looking out through the bars for a moment before facing Steve once more. "Rachel's pregnant," he said quietly.

Steve averted his gaze, staring at the cell door, imagining it locking on his heart. "Congratulations," he said, hoping it didn't sound as hollow as it felt. "I mean," he added, forcing himself to look back at Danny, "it is yours, yeah?"

Nodding slowly, Danny leaned on his knee, putting himself a little closer, and Steve stopped himself from moving back just in time. "Thank you. But that's not important right now."

"It is important. You shouldn't be here. You should be with Rachel and Grace." _Five thousand miles away from me_.

"No. They have my parents to help them. They're fine," Danny said. " _You_ need me. So here I stay. Understood?"

Steve nodded, not trusting his voice just yet.  He needed Danny, all right. It was just a good thing Danny didn't know how much.

"Good. Then I need you to take me through what happened that night, okay?"

He nodded again before he began telling the story slowly, one part of his brain remembering that night, the other cataloging everything about Danny that he didn't want to forget. Because when this was over, Danny would be gone, and Steve would be stuck in Hawaii, alone.

He would be free--he knew Danny would get him out. The irony was that it didn't matter. No prison on Earth could ever be as cold or lonely as all of Hawaii without Danny Williams.

\-----------

END

**Author's Note:**

> Want to learn more about me and my writing? Visit my page at <http://www.jamiemeadowswrites.com/>


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